The new Shop with Friends tool enables consumers to share outfits they have created with their friends and get feedback on the styles they have created.
Walmart’s CEO and president Doug McMillon explained: “Our technology roadmap is compelling and we’re very excited about it, but we’re clear that we are a people-led, tech-powered company. People, our customers and associates, come first and we’ll put technology to work to serve them better than ever.”
The new technology was unveiled alongside an AI-powered search tool for iOS customers. The tool allows Walmart customers to search for specific events or needs rather than having to add each item to their cart individually.
The development comes shortly after Walmart reported 5.2% revenue growth in Q3 2024 and predicted weaker consumer spending over the 2023 holiday season.
The supermarket also announced Walmart InHome Replenishment at CES. The AI-powered tool ensures that online shopping carts are filled with the most needed items at the right time – at the technology event.
Walmart also announced at CES that it was piloting new technology at 10 of its Sam's Club stores in the US that seamlessly checks that members have paid for all items in their carts so that they can exit the store more easily.
The new technology removes the need for staff members to manually check receipts as customers exit the stores.
Walmart says it aims to create “personalised, seamless and flexible” shopping experiences from start to finish in a trend it is calling “adaptive retail”.
Walmart’s global chief technology officer and chief development officer Suresh Kumar explained: “While omnichannel retail has been around for decades, this new type of retail – adaptive retail – takes it a step further. It’s retail that is not only e-commerce or in-store, but a single, unified retail experience that seamlessly blends the best aspects of all channels. And for Walmart, adaptive retail is rooted in a clear focus on people.”
The retailer also announced that it was extending its drone delivery offer to an additional 1.8 million households in Dallas Fort-Worth metroplex, US. Walmart says that 75% of the items sold at its supercentres meet the size and weight requirements for drone delivery.
Last year, UK activewear brand Sweaty Betty started using NewStore‘s mobile omnichannel platform across its 73 stores in the UK and Ireland in a bid to provide a seamless and scalable omnichannel experience for its customers and store colleagues.
